Wade or LeBron? Heat executive makes his choice for Miami's greatest player

In just a few days’ time, a new Basketball Hall of Fame class will be enshrined in Springfield, Mass. It’s a star-studded class this year, with players like Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowtizki gaining entry to the Hall alongside legendary head coach Gregg Popovich and WNBA icon Becky Hammon.

Also in the group this year is former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade, who averaged 22 points per game and won three NBA championships in his 16-year career. The 14 full seasons Wade spent in Miami, and what he achieved there, compelled Heat executive Pat Riley on Tuesday to say that Wade is the franchise’s greatest-ever player — even better than LeBron James, with whom Wade won two titles.

Riley has his reasons

In a conference call with reporters ahead of Saturday’s induction ceremony, Riley — a Hall of Famer himself — explained why he believes Wade is the best Miami Heat player of all-time.

“As a Heat player, Dwyane is the greatest player who ever put on a uniform for us,” Riley said. “LeBron was here for four years and gave us a tremendous lift and helped Dwyane achieve what he wanted to achieve. But over the body of work here in Miami, Dwyane is the greatest player who ever played for the Heat. That’s not an insult to LeBron, that’s because of his longevity and the short term that LeBron was here.”

Wade and LeBron were teammates in Miami for only four years and later reunited in 2017 on the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Heat made the NBA Finals all four years that Wade, James, and Chris Bosh played for the team, winning it all in 2012 and 2013.

James, the NBA‘s all-time points leader, has since gone on to win two more championships — one with Cleveland, the other with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Jordan-like” Wade almost didn’t play for Miami

In the same conference call, Riley compared Wade — who was drafted fifth overall in the now-legendary 2003 NBA Draft — to Michael Jordan. Riley, a nine-time NBA champion, said Wade’s explosive first step and ability to twist his way to the rim reminded him of only one other scorer he’d seen.

But it wasn’t even a certainty the Heat wpuld end up with Wade on draft day in 2003. There was concern that the Toronto Raptors would take Wade with the fourth pick — in which case, Miami would have selected Bosh, who it ultimately signed in free agency in 2010.

NBA history might forever have been changed had Wade started his career in Canada, but Riley is sure glad he got the chance to draft his man 20 years ago.

“I love (Wade) to death,” Riley said. “Every time I see him, we wrap each other up in a big embrace and we talk.”